Ororo entered the room, holding a cup of warm tea and right away she saw Scott, Hank and Charles talking with Jean. Seeing all of them sitting by the table, eating the cake Scott and Jean had bought on the way home, brought a smile to her face.

Right from the moment when she woke up, pressing a kiss to her lover's hair, she knew it was going to be a good day. Now, in the evening, she was glad that she had been right. In the other room she could hear loud laughter that must have been coming from Bobby and Jean-Paul. Along with Peter and Kurt, they had talked Logan into friendly sparring matches earlier, telling him that only a coward would refuse. She only shook her head when now she saw Bobby laughing at an irritated Logan, and Jean-Paul leaning against Piotr's side. A bright smile was on Jean-Paul’s face as Piotr wrapped one arm around the younger man's shoulders. At least they sounded a lot calmer already. It was good to see them all enjoying their weekend, finally able to relax and enjoy each other's company. They all needed it.

She couldn't help smiling at seeing that all her friends - her family - were as happy as she was. Scott and Hank were also laughing loudly now; Charles had a small smile on his face, continuing his story. And there was Jean.

She was sitting on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate in her hands, her long hair shining, looking even brighter in the glow coming from the fireplace. She was wearing the green sweater Ororo had given her for her birthday. She was chuckling now, looking at Hank.

"You can't say it wasn't nice, Hank," she said, putting her cup on the coffee table. "After all it's not often you get breakfast in bed."

"As nice as it was, it would have been even better if they weren't surprising me with hot coffee like that," Hank replied and everybody laughed. "But I have to admit, Bobby and Jean-Paul do know how to surprise people. They always manage to surprise me with their sense of humor."

"It's good to see Jean-Paul feeling more comfortable here," Charles said, looking in the direction of the other room. "The last weeks were busy for us all, so it's good to see them all happy and having some fun."

"That's true," Ororo said as she moved to take a seat next to Jean on the couch. She wrapped an arm around the other woman in an embrace. "It's been some time since they could simply enjoy themselves. The weather always does a lot to improve the mood and the boys are going to take advantage of that. And maybe Logan will be able to relax, too."

"They won't have the time for fun if Wolverine gets back at them for all this teasing," Scott laughed. "I may have heard him murmuring something about making them pay and some kind of a training for them..."

"At least they won't be able to say that they were bored," Hank agreed and Jean shook her head at them. "But now I may have to wish you all a goodnight. It was a rather long day."

After that Scott and Charles left, too and it was only her and Jean now, sitting on the couch. Jean moved closer, leaning against her and putting her head on Ororo's shoulder. She took her hand and kissed her fingers before linking their fingers together.

The silence around them created a quiet, intimate atmosphere and Ororo tightened the hold on her lover, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"It was a good day, wasn't it?" Jean said after a moment.

"Yes, it was. Seeing everybody smile like they did today always makes this place brighter."

Jean chuckled, looking up at her. "You mean brighter than it already is? It’s hard to imagine this place more vibrant, but you're right. It's good when all of us can just spend some time together without being distracted by anything else. Bobby, Jean-Paul, Piotr and Kurt do need it now."

"We all do."

"That's why I plan to ask Hank to help me prepare a family dinner tomorrow. What do you think?"

"You know what Logan thinks about Valentine's Day," Ororo chuckled.

Jean began to chuckle too."Yes, I do. But I don't think he'd mind eating a simple dinner with us if I asked him."

Ororo nodded and kissed Jean on the forehead again, feeling her lover into her They sat there in a comfortable silence, observing the fireplace and the snow outside. Jean fell asleep with one hand on Ororo's stomach and the other one still intertwined with Ororo's. Ororo sighed, content. It was always an amazing feeling to have all your loved ones around.